Class Plan #2 

Exercise #1 

  Audience 'Takes' and suspended moments.

Objectives:

1)  Share reactions directly with audience.

2)  Develop timing.

The students work in pairs.  The improvisation involves giving a gift.  One person gives the other a surprise gift.  The person receiving the gift first reacts to the idea of getting an unexpected gift.  They give that reaction to the gift giver and then hold it and share it with the audience by looking at them with the reaction.  Then back to the gift giver.  Then they open the gift and see what it is.  They react to seeing the gift and repeat the previous procedure with the new reaction.  They can either silently mime or tell the audience what the gift is.  Let the class work all at the same time as a warm up and then have them demonstrate to the class.  

Next have them react to the gift and then give the opposite reaction to the audience and then return the original reaction to the gift giver.

Next you can play a variation on the telling a secret or rumour game.  In a circle one person begins by telling the person next to them either a secret or rumour.  The person receiving the news gives their reaction directly to the class and then gives that reaction to the next person in the circle and tells them what they heard.  When it gets back to the original person they react to the fact that their secret is out or reacts to the changes in the rumour.

Notes:  

1)  Be simple when miming the gift.  The reactions are more important in this exercise than showing what the gift is.  If it is easier to verbally say what it is then use words.

2)  Encourage them to play with the length of the suspended moment or take to the audience to see what works and what doesn't.

3)  The reactions should be physically overreacted. 

Exercise #2

Character relationships

Objectives: (Including the ones in Exercise #1 above.)

1)  Learn how the different character energies work off one another.

2)  Discover which character is 'your' character.

3)  Gain an understanding of stage balance and positioning when playing with another character.

Review the characters from Class #1.  Then work with the improvs below. 

"The examination." - Pantalone and Dottore.

"The secret rendezvous." - Lelio and Isabella / Arlecchino and Columbina.

"The seduction."  -  Capitano and Columbina.

"Kitchen duty."  -  Brighella and Arlecchino / Columbina and Tartaglia.

"The threat."  -  Brighella and Tartaglia / Capitano and Lelio.

"The proposition." -  Capitano with either Brighella, Arlecchino, or Pantalone.

Now play with more than two characters.  The following improvs are done with entrances and exits.  The character giving the instructions always exits before the new character enters.  For example, Pantalone gives instructions to Arlecchino then exits before or as Columbina enters and so on.  Tartaglia is left trying to remember or mixing up the instructions while repeating them to the audience.   

"The instructions." -  A) Pantalone to Arlecchino to Columbina to Brighella to Tartaglia.

                                 B) Lelio to Isabella to Columbina to Arlecchino to Tartaglia.

Notes:

1)  Use the audience takes from exercise #1.

2)  Remind them to over act.  Commedia is very broad, physical action.  Avoid being too intellectual. 

3)  Commedia Dell'Arte is not politically correct theatre.  It was and is, very crude, sexual, and political.  Allow the students as much lattitude as is permitted in your school and your own personal teaching philosophy.

4)  Keep the characters' relationships and social status in mind.

5)  Always arrange yourself so that you are never talking upstage to someone.  This will be important for when the masks are on.

6)  Remind them of their character's personal signature gesture or movement when entering and exiting.

End of Class #2

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